PREVIEW

A fashion designer has created clothing that can change colour. Kim Mesches' Collection 5 range features a series of colour-changing tops and dresses made using heat-activated technology. The clothes use thermochromic materials – materials which change colour with the temperature – including dyes and pigments mixed with a hardened resin instead of traditional fabric. The resin-based clothing changes colour from blue to orange, purple to lavender, moss to jade green, and more. Thermochromic materials are most often created using one of two methods: liquid crystals and leuco dyes. Liquid crystalline material changes colour between 24 degrees Celsius and 29 degrees Celsius, through electrical currents or magnetic interference. Leuco dyes can switch between a colourless form and a coloured form based on heat, light, or pH.